The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-10-29

Il
believe it would be an organization for good
of the Church.
See to it that our young people learn the
divine way of life; see to it that they grow
into higher and holier thought. See to it
that the young man takes from you your
crown, that you use every means to inculcate
the Gospel into the heart of the young. 1t
ought to be so, and by the efforts of this
Church and the blessing of God it may be so.
DIR. SAWYER ON EDUCATION.
1t was sixty years or more after John Murray
landed on our shores and began his work be-
fore any effective steps we're taken in the in
terest of education. Not that the subject had
not been thought of; not that it had not been
talked about; not that some efficient steps had
not been taken toward the attainment of some
| result; but practically nothing was done. 1t
was not until 1881 that few courageous souls
in central New York proposed to found
Universalist School, and went to work to that
end. The result was the Clinton Liberal In
| stitute, which still exists; few years later
small number of energetic brethren in Maine
| founded Westbrook Seminary, which still
| lives. Other attempts had been made but
nothing remains except these two institutions.
| 1t was only about the middle of this century
that we had grown up to the idea of college,
and at the educational convention held in this
city 1t was resolved; first, that we needed
college; secondly, that we needed theology
cal school, and thirdly that we would have
them. Well, Tufts College grew out of that,
and the Canton Theological School. Tufts
College was formally opened in 1885, and the
| Canton Theological School two or three years
after But not alone here had the spirit of
education arisen, it's impulse was felt in the
far West; the Lombard University sprang out
of the common thought, and the st. Lawrence
University grew up in connection with the
| Theological School there.
| Bucbtel College is the result of the efforts
| of single individual whose name it bears,
| and you heard this afternoon what he has
| done for it. We had in 1850, / suppose, two
| academies holding q responsible rank among
| institutions OF that class; now we have seven
much larger and better; now, we have four
| colleges, three theological schools; they are
| all very young, all very poor, but they are
| well planned and they are growing and promise
| to be something by and by. 1t is too early ia
assume to tell the effect of these institutions
| upon us. Why, do not call myself an old
man, by any means, but even since ] have
| come in the ministry have seen every one OF
| the institutions come ilto existence, and have
| witnessed their growth from the beginning
| they are all within my memory and that OF
others twenty or thirty years my junior: but
| they have accomplished something; why
/ tell you two out of every five of our minis
| tiers have been educated in our theological
schools; two-fifths of them. think, aud a little
| more than that. Our colleges have sent forth
| young men with their diplomas who have taker
| their place in society at large, as ministers
as lawyers, as physicians, as professors, who
have taken their place in various occupations
and professions of life and who are exertine
their influence, who always carry along with
them, we think, feeling of loyalty toward
their Alma Matters, and feeling of gratitude
| toward the denomination that has created
them. Our academies have sent forth many
| young men aud women with some education
under some degree of culture, to take theil
| place in the higher line of life, AND by exert
| ing their influence upon those with whom
they come in contact are working toward the
| elevation of our church and the improvement
| of our future.
/ In 1850 we had scarcely 10000 invested in
| school property; now we have $30O0,OOO, and
| a great many of you have never given one
| farthing toward it. In 1850 we were poor; we
were few; our denomination was scattered;
| we had little wealth, and did not very well
know how we were to get more; now, suppose
| the wealth of our denomination Is fifty times
what it was in 1850; we are not poor people
now, and wish could dispossess you of that
kind of thinking. We could do great deal
more than we have done IL we only understood
the fact. We are able to do anything in the
| world that is needed to be done and to which
we set our hearts.
There are two or three questions which
suppose some curious person will ask. and the
| first is, whether we could not have done good
| deal more for the denomination in some other
way instead of spending so much money on
| education; if we had gone for church extern
sion; these So, 600 600 would have done great
| deal in that way; but would we have got il
| for that kind of work; not tenth part of it;
| no, we did not make a mistake there. Think
| for one moment what our condition was forty
years ago. in the way of education and in the
| religious world about us; and think what it is
| to-day. These institutions of learning have
| lifted us up; they have given us place in the
religious world; they have put us in line with
| the religious world about us. If we do not
| stand in the front rank We are not very far
behind. We are doing as much as other de-
| nominations in proportion to our number,
| and in proportion to our wealth. Let us not
| be proud of that; there is nothing so bad as
| self -conceit; let us understand how we stand,
| and what we have to do. We ought to be
| proud of these institutions that we have
created; they are worthy of our thought. our
love, our pride; they have done great deal
for us, and they are doing more and more for
us. These institutions, which have already
| operated TO exert such an influence about us
and to the world, are doing that every year;
they are the streams that are running through
the denomination and through the world about
US; let us think of that
Then somebody will be likely to ask whether
| it would not have been better to concentrate
| ali these in one, and to have built only one
large university; 100000 would have built
| a big university and big academy alongside
of it. But could we have got the $3000,000 to
build one university? Not by any sort of
means.
Mr. Buchtel has given his 100000 to found
the Buchtel College; he wanted it where he
| used to live; among the scenes of his life;
| among the people whom he had known; in
the midst of the line of his business, as it
was. He would not have sent 100000 to Tufts
College, or to the ST. Lawrence University
but there he would have done a great deal.
Tufts College would have been worth but little
to-day If it had been anywhere else. We
must take into consideration these weaknesses
of the human mind. We have made no mis-
take there; we have acted on the democratic
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